Wilmington, N.C.-based contract research organization (CRO) PPD has a new senior vice president of global biostatistics and data management. It’s Susan Atkinson, who previously oversaw the company’s Phase I-IV biostatistics, programming and data management for U.S. operations.

In her the new role, Atkinson is providing direction for the company’s global biostatistics and data management business, including electronic data capture operations, CSS Informatics and PPD Medical Device.

Lots of Leadership

Atkinson joined PPD in 1991 as a senior biostatistician and has held a series of leadership positions there. Recently, she guided the health outcomes group, interactive voice response group, and EDC operations.

Prior to joining PPD, Atkinson held consulting positions with pharmaceutical companies and other clinical research organizations. She began her career as a research statistician in the biometric consulting laboratory of the department of biostatistics at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.

Atkinson holds a doctorate and master’s degree in biostatistics and a bachelor’s degree in public health (biostatistics) from UNC.

Revenue, Income Up

PPD has offices in 28 countries, and more than 9,700 employees worldwide. The company recently reported net revenue of $350 million for the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 13.3 percent over net revenue of $309 million for the second quarter of 2006. Income from operations for second quarter 2007 was $61.1 million, an increase of 24.6 percent compared to $49 million for the same period last year.

The company said it expects 2007 net revenue to be in the range of $1.29 billion to $1.34 billion.

Gung-Ho in Scotland

PPD also recently announced that it plans to expand its presence in Bellshill, Scotland, investing 15 million pounds (about 30 million dollars) in a new building and 390 new employees. The company already has 350 employees there, and a newly constructed building it just opened this year.

But demand for its drug development services there is increasing, it said in a release. Thus, new jobs will be created in the areas of biostatistics, data management, pharmacovigilance, product development, and clinical trial management and monitoring. The new building will be 34,000-square-feet—the same size as the facility PPD just built.

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